1. Sustainability 

Around 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions are believed to come from buildings. Britain’s commitment to sustainability is stronger than ever, and the energy efficiency of buildings needs to significantly improve over the next few years. The UK will need a big push and gain in momentum to hit its net zero target by 2050, and the property industry has a part to play.

Developers, owners, and landlords of commercial property have already made progress towards integrating green building practices within buildings. This includes energy efficiency of lighting, heating, and hot water, recycling initiatives, eco-friendly construction materials, and smart buildings that can regulate (as well as measure) how much energy is used during the day and night.

These changes are becoming essential to meet ESG funding requirements, which are driven by banks and investors. Funders are more likely to back a greener scheme that contributes towards net zero than one that has no sustainability credentials.

Our prediction is that more progress will be made in creating ways to retrofit both residential and commercial buildings. It is a major financial commitment to ask owners or landlords to retrofit commercial property to the required standard to make a difference to our carbon emissions, let alone to require individual residential homeowners to pay for such major improvements. We believe financial incentives will be required from the new government, as well as a renewed push to use technology to help reduce carbon emissions.

2. Energy and EPCs

The importance of reaching net zero cannot be overstated, and renewable energy is key. The new government is committed to making Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030, but there is lots to be done in the real estate sector to make this happen.

As well as further investment in and upgrades to the existing national grid to meet the rising demand for electricity, the government has pledged to look at renewable energy. The solar power sector is ripe for improvement, and the industry predicts that UK warehouses alone have enough roof space to potentially provide up to 15 GW of new solar power. The UK’s solar capacity needs to double over the next few years, and this could reduce carbon emissions by up to 2 million tonnes a year.

There is currently a great deal of uncertainty about the future of the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (‘MEES’) for commercial property. The previous government decided to keep the minimum requirement for MEES for lettings of residential property at EPC rating E rather than increase it to the proposed minimum EPC rating of B.

However, the government has not yet published a response to the 2021 consultation on MEES for non-domestic rented property. The proposal put forward in the 2021 consultation was to require all leased commercial property to have EPC rating B by 2030. We predict this is a tall order, and this may need a longer lead time than originally set out in the consultation. The property industry also needs greater detail on EPC targets, timelines, and clarity on rules around exemptions and enforcement.

3. Housing and development 

The demand for more housing and the need to get developers to build new homes is greater than ever. The current planning system has been ineffective and over the last few years, has slowed down or prevented development. The new government has promised to remove the red tape surrounding planning for housing development and to ‘get Britain building again’.

The pledges made include: